It’s not every day you get a Word of the Day derived from the Ojibwa language. But “totem” is exactly that. It comes to us from a tongue spoken by native folk once living all around Lake Superior. The word’s most basic form, ote, comes from the Ojibwa ototeman, meaning “his totem.” We English-speakers appropriated the term and still use it today. It refers to an emblematic depiction of an animal or plant that gives a family clan its identity. Used more broadly, it refers to persons or things having particular symbolic importance.
The Ojibwe lived mainly in the upper Midwest and southern Canada. They spoke a form of Algonquian closely related to languages of neighboring Ottawa and Potawatomi tribes. Ojibwe belonged to one of seven sub-groups whose totems are loon, crane, fish, bird, bear, marten, and deer. Clans were instrumental in traditional occupations, inter-tribal relations, and marriages. More Wikipedia-ese on clan structure is here.
In the midst of prepping the house for sale today I dropped everything to ‘put up corn.’ This job requires unwavering focus least you sever an artery on the razor edge of the ‘corner ‘ but even so my mind was filled with memories of putting up corn with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
We were in the deep shade of the sentinel Norway maples in front of the house, Were the tables covered in oil skin or red-checked vinyl? We were racing the clock, a cauldron of corn over the ancient wood stove, another huge tub of cooked corn was cooling in water, flies looking for an advantage everywhere. We wanted it all put up to freeze in time to make the noon meal. I think we got 44 pints to divide three ways. I could not have been happier.
I got seven pints yesterday. I couldn’t love them more if they’d been seven puppies wagging at me.
Wolf clan? Things diverge. But they can be a long time disappearing.
You can just keep doing linguistics posts. I’ll be here for them!
The Eastern Wolf Clan that married up on 4-20 Day did so at the Potawatomi County Courthouse in Council Bluffs Iowa (Go Wildcat-Husker-Eers!). No totems or Potawatomis (Potawatomies?) in sight at the time